Page 9 of The Ghost of You

She stands taller, propping her hands on her hips. “Well then I am honored I got to be the last.”

I laugh out loud. “I’ll let him know.”

An awkward silence passes between us. “Well, I—ugh, better get ready for work. You should clean up as much water as possible so it doesn’t mold or warp the wood.”

She nods her head. “Yeah, right… okay.”

“You can stop by in twenty. Shower should be free by then.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime,” I say as I head back over to my house.

5

Anna

I leanover in downward dog, getting a deep stretch, and trying to filter all the thoughts from my mind.

It’s been two days since my shower exploded on me and I have yet to hear from my landlord. My upstairs neighbor was lucky enough to go stay with his girlfriend for a few days. I am grateful for that too so I don’t have to listen to their obnoxiously loud fucking.

But no water for two days is hard. Seraphina has let me use her shower after yoga so at least I don’t smell. But no water has made it hard to cook. I lost weight when I moved here because I quit eating shit food. I learned to cook for myself, yet another thing Seraphina helped me with. Although I still eat meat. She is vegan and the thought of cutting out cheese from my diet is scarier than walking down a dark alley at night.

I stretch an arm over my head before bringing it back down. Breathing in deep and exhaling all the tension from my body. I finish up the class and turn the music off in the room.

“You want to take a shower?” Seraphina asks me as I put away yoga mats into the cubbies.

“Yes, I need one. Badly,” I answer as I not so subtly sniff myself.

She tosses her keys at me. “I need to run some errands before the three o’clock class. Just drop these off before you head home.”

I thank her and head out the door. I walk the short distance to her house and let myself in.

I turn on the shower in her guest bathroom to warm up the water when my phone starts ringing.

“Hello?”

“Is this Anna Cooper?”

“This is.”

“Hi Anna. It’s George, your landlord.”

I sigh a breath of relief over the call. “Thank god. I was beginning to get worried since I hadn’t heard from you.”

“So what is the problem?”

“I went to use my shower and the entire showerhead just shot out of the wall! There was water everywhere. I had to shut off the main water supply.”

“Hmm.”

I shut the water off in the shower. “Hmm. That’s all you have to say?”

“Well, I find it hard to believe the showerhead just flew out of the wall.”

I groan. “George I have been complaining for months about the loose knob in the shower and how it leaks sometimes. Not to mention the fluctuation in water pressure constantly. You knew there was an issue.”

“And I looked at everything. It was all good.”

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